Favorite

...in the title role of this historical drama. She plays the infamous actress/courtesan attached to Charles II (Cedric Hardwicke), a player who takes London society and the royal court by storm but never loses her common roots. Neagle is mainly remembered for a series of lady-like portrayals in a series of romantic dramas and musicals (often with Michael Wilding) that just didn't show a wide range even though they were highly entertaining. But here, at age 30, she busts loose and gives a great performance that zeroes in on the bawdy humor and also includes singing and dancing. Simply marvelous.

Her main nemesis is the Duchess of Portsmouth (Jean De Casalis), and their exchanges are hilarious, culminating in Nell's stage act that shames the ambitious French woman. I've always admired Neagle for her dramatic roles as Queen Victoria and Edith Cavell as well as her 40s musicals with Wilding, but the role of Nell Gwyn is nothing like her others. It's truly good stuff.

Now, this is an Anna Neagle completely unlike her later, Great British typecast roles - and all the better for it! This saucy, bawdy comedy is just the ticket - although brief by modern standards, it's so full of life it certainly doesn't feel short.

Cedric Hardwicke and Anna Neagle play off one another to the hilt as the merry monarch and bouncy, irreverent Nell, and the verbal pyrotechnics of the script kept up a ripple of laughter among the audience. Broader visual comedy includes a multitude of impromptu meaningful looks, a cheeky dog and the sleeping Nell's voluptuous little wiggle.

Jeanne de Casalis was somewhat irritating as Louise de Keroualle, Duchess of Portsmouth, sporting a heavily over-the-top French accent and mannerisms; however, the character was supposed to be irritating, so this was not an insurmountable problem!

A film for fans of Ealing comedy and screwball romance, this was a thoroughly enjoyable romp, based a little too accurately on historical fact for the American censors, that took an unexpected serious twist towards the end. I found myself left wondering what did happen afterwards to Nell Gwyn...

I opted to check this out after I realized that I had a number of films dealing with the life and times of British King Charles II (a character, albeit prior to his occupying the throne, around whom the recently-viewed THE MOONRAKER {1958} revolves); incidentally, I was under the impression that the surname of the titular figure had an extra 'n' at the end – which made it difficult for me to locate its entry on IMDb! Furthermore, it transpired that the copy I acquired – albeit sourced from the official R2 DVD edition – ran for a mere 72 minutes (in PAL mode) against the official 86!

The film was obviously proposed as a vehicle for leading lady Anna Neagle – who, as it happened, was director Wilcox's spouse and one of Britain's top stars of her time. She plays an orange-seller (though often mentioned, she is never shown peddling this trade!) and stage actress who catches the eye of the King (played by Sir Cedric Hardwicke – managing, in spite of the nature of the role, to largely eschew the cheerlessness that marks much of his work!), openly becoming his mistress even though he is officially betrothed to a haughty French Duchess! The two women's sparring for royal attention takes up much of the running-time (with the noblewoman even maneuvering to make Nell look like she is playing Hardwicke for a fool by inventing a liaison with Hay Petrie as the ambassador of her own country!) – but the result is certainly good-looking (this being an early assignment for celebrated cinematographer Freddie Young) and professionally enough assembled to rise above "woman's picture" fare. That said, just as prominent are the musical numbers (that smack rather more of 20th century music-halls than Restoration-era England!) in which audiences – the King included! – enthusiastically join in.

The plot traces the central relationship to its bitter end, when Nell (having already suffered the ignominy of being looked down upon by the aristocracy) is barred from sharing the King's final moments (while the Duchess sensibly flees the scene of her own accord) and leaves the royal quarters alone. Even so, her earthy background – which sees her rubbing elbows daily with scarred but pensionless war veterans (among whom, presumably, is Will Hay regular Moore Marriott…but I sure did not recognize him!) – leads her to instigate a reform of this kind, shown via superimposed footage of the institution concerned as it stood in 1934! By the way, the script is credited as only having "additional dialogue" by Miles Malleson (here also playing one of Hardwicke's closest collaborators) – with the majority supplied by the characters themselves (including MP Samuel Pepys, with the narrative appearing as though it were 'torn' from his personal diary)! For the record, I have a number of other Neagle/Wilcox efforts in my collection – among which is her second turn as Queen Victoria in SIXTY GLORIOUS YEARS (1938), which I may just get to in the current Easter epic marathon...

This vehicle for the talents (such as they were) of the adorable young Anna Neagle is surprisingly specific about orange-seller Nell Gwynn's rise to power as the favorite mistress of Charles II. Although the bawdy laugh and swagger affected by pure-as-snow Anna portraying little Nell is somewhat unconvincing, the film is fast moving and loads of fun. No Hollywood moral ending here.

Nell Gwyn is raucous bawdy historical drama about the restoration period actress who became the mistress of King Charles II (Cedric Hardwicke.)

Anna Neagle gives a cheeky and spirited performance as Nell. She wins the heart of the monarch and offends his other French born mistress who Nell constantly pokes fun at.

Hardwicke gives a dignified performance as the King. A leader of a nation that is bankrupt and a few years earlier, divided.

I can sense that Nell Gwyn would had censorship problems when it was first released. Neagle plays Nell very much as a good time girl with a ready wit, she displays a lot of cleavage and unconcerned about her upbringing.

It becomes a tender lover story at the end. Part of the story has been inspired by Samuel Pepys diaries. Although it takes liberties with the truth, this is an interesting British film of the period.